Kankakee Community College is one of 28 small community colleges across the nation with a gold ranking in the 2023 Guide to Military Friendly Schools, published in conjunction with “G.I. Jobs” magazine. Typically, KCC has approximately 60 veterans who enroll each year, according to the college’s Office of Financial Aid. Among veterans, there are 35 KCC student veterans currently utilizing VA Education benefits.
“KCC is very proud to be designated as a Military Friendly School,” said Kendra Souligne, director of financial aid and student engagement. “We are genuinely committed to assisting those who served or are currently serving in the U.S. military and their family members as they transition into the college setting. Our main goal is to guide them in utilizing their federal and state VA educational benefits and financial aid, all while supporting their personal, professional, and academic goals”
Throughout Illinois, there are only 14 community colleges that achieved a Military Friendly designation this year.
More information about KCC’s educational benefits for military veterans, spouses, and dependents, is at kcc.edu/veterans<mailto:kcc.edu/veterans>. Community members and prospective students may request information at veterans.kcc.edu<http://veterans.kcc.edu>, email finaid@kcc.edu<mailto:finaid@kcc.edu>, or phone 815-802-8550.
Sidebar
In January, four veterans represented KCC at the 2023 Student Veterans of America conference – the largest gathering of student veterans in the country. KCC students who participated are Mark Cross of Watseka, Juan Perez of St. Anne, and Rodolfo Leal of Bradley. Cesar Avalos, KCC’s coordinator for workforce opportunities and career services, also attended.
“What made the convention more unique for me was that I experienced it from three different points of view: Veteran, staff member in higher education, and student within higher education,” said Avalos, who is studying human resources at American Military University.
“As a student and veteran, it was great to see what the SVA organization is doing to support student veterans,” Avalos continued. “The transition from being an active service member to being a full-time student can be intimidating. Organizations like SVA and events like their (convention) make this transition easier. Aside from the workshops focused around ‘knowing your worth,’ being able to network with other organizations that are looking to employ student veterans goes a long way. It was a great feeling to be around those who understood the lingo in many cases and hear that they’ve been through the same process that I have.
“We definitely brought back some ideas…we can incorporate to our program to make it that much better. Being new to the environment in higher education, it is exciting to know there is a way I can continue to assist and have an impact on student veterans.”